Today, the relevant departments officially issued an award to China UnicomOperating License for Satellite Mobile Communication BusinessAuthorize it to carry out activities includingMobile phone directly connected to satelliteMultiple satellite communication services are included.

This measure is not only an official recognition of the operator’s ability, but also marks the official progress of China’s satellite Internet industry from technology verification and system constructionThe key turning point for commercial operation.

In addition, in the past month, China has made 6 launches in the field of low Earth orbit satellites, with dozens of satellites entering orbit. The “Thousand Sail Constellation” has completed the “one rocket, 18 satellites” mission,The launch frequency of the satellite network system has significantly increased recently.

From this perspective, perhapsSatellite communication enters mass production stageThe signal.

1、 What is the most direct impact of China Unicom obtaining a license?

What is the most direct impact of China Unicom obtaining a license?

That means the direct connection of mobile phones to satellites will start charging now.

In the past two years, Huawei Mate 60, iPhone 14/15, and Honor Magic series have successively supported satellite SMS function.

But these services are either limited to specific regions, limited to operators, or not open for commercial use.

It’s different now.As a national operator, obtaining a license for China Unicom means that it canLegitimate collection of satellite communication service fees from usersAnd it will be packaged and sold together with ground 5G packages.

This step is equivalent to transforming satellite communication from a “function” to a “service”.

We calculate the accounts

1. Assuming an additional “satellite insurance” service fee of 10 yuan per month is charged for each high-end mobile phone.

2. China ships 300 million mobile phones annually, and even if only 10% are activated, the annual revenue is 3.6 billion yuan;

3. If expanded to fields such as automotive, IoT, aviation, etc., the market space will be even larger.

More importantly, the reconstruction of user experience.

Future smartphones are no longer afraid of ‘no signal’. You can send satellite messages while hiking on snow capped mountains, fishing at sea, or crossing deserts.

By analogy, it’s like when the iPhone brought touch screens from PDAs to the mass market.

Direct connection of mobile phones to satellites may be the next ‘must-have’ communication function for human hands.

2、 Industrial acceleration, infrastructure construction

How is SpaceX leading?

Not the most advanced technology, butThe highest transmission frequency, lowest cost, and fastest iteration.

It used the Lie-9 rocket to complete hundreds of Starlink launches between 2020 and 2023, sending over 4000 satellites into space.

Once the first mover advantage is established, it is extremely difficult for latecomers to catch up.

In this regard, China started late, but is currently accelerating to catch up.

The Thousand Sail Constellation plans to deploy 648 low orbit satellites by the end of 2025, achieving initial global coverage.

This number refers to the initial scale of the first generation constellations in the Star Chain.

And a larger satellite network is also being synchronously promoted, with plans for nearly 10000 satellites in the future.

The key changes occur inAfter July 2025Within a month, China completed 6 network launches, but the frequency suddenly reached full capacity. This may be due toEntering the sprint phase.

You should know that the essence of LEO satellite Internet iseconomies of scale.

A single satellite has no value, and 100 satellites are not enough. A network of thousands of satellites is necessary to provide continuous coverage and low latency services. Whoever sets up the network first will be able to collect the money first.

The current global competition istime window.

3、 What is the value of satellite Internet, and the downstream demand is great

The value of satellite Internet is not to replace 5G, but toFill in the blind spots of the ground network.

It is intersecting with multiple high growth tracks:

Integration with 6GThe core of 6G is the integration of air, space, earth, and sea, and satellites are natural high-altitude nodes. China has listed satellite ground fusion as a key technology in the pre research of 6G standards.

Binding with low altitude economyDrones and eVTOLs (flying cars) require global communication support. Ground base stations cannot cover the sky, and satellites are the only option.

Vehicle networking collaborationL4 level autonomous driving requires’ always online ‘, and satellite communication will become the’ last guarantee ‘for vehicles.

Combining with computing power networks: In the future, there may be “on-board edge computing”. The satellite will process remote sensing images and meteorological data in orbit, directly output the results, and reduce the return pressure.

These integrations are giving birth to aCross dimensional intelligent network ecosystem.

In addition, Starlink is a typical C-end strategy, which first requires individual users to pay monthly fees and then expands enterprise services.

In conclusion

The function of directly connecting mobile phones to satellites has been implemented on Mate 60, China Unicom has obtained a license, and the Qianfan constellation has entered the mass deployment stage.

This is not the future, it is ongoing now.

Special statement: The above content does not constitute any investment advice, guidance or commitment, and is only for academic discussion.

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